Yes, we have all heard of the transition jitters.
Moving up from PSLE to Secondary 1 English is enough to keep pre-teens up at night. Pre-teens and their moms, that is.
Why do people experience these symptoms of nervousness?
What is so intimidating about going to Secondary 1?
Well, for starters, Secondary 1 is an entirely different set-up from primary school.
The syllabus is rather different with new subjects and new additions to the same subjects so naturally, Secondary 1 English will be more challenging.
Everything is different. Even the teachers talk differently.
They don’t say ‘Keep Quiet!’ anymore.
And the principal will address the school with views about being a gentleman or a lady.
Yes, the lingo is different. And if you want to keep up, you need to shift your gear to the Secondary one mode.
Ok. How exactly does one do that?
I’ve got a couple of suggestions, maybe more. Just keep reading. 😊
Tip #1 Get your focus changed
Ok. First things first. You really need to change your focus buddy. Get your focus away from the narrow confines of just the textbooks.
In secondary school, you will be facing a sort of holistic education. There are more subjects so you need to think ‘macro.’
What I mean is that you need to pay attention to additional subjects like English Literature. And you will need to understand there are new concepts to learn. Do not think small anymore.
The word count will be more so you will need to fill up those pages inSecondary 1 English. Change your focus to thinking big. Read more, understand the new parts and learn.
Tip #2 Change your language
Next, your language has to change. You cannot write in that primary school style anymore.
Think about a new perspective. It is no longer ‘I did this’ and ‘I did that.’ You have to drop your ‘I’s for a bit.
YourSecondary 1 English writing has to reflect maturity and vision. You will get the hang of it but trying to change at the start will be a good idea. Do not panic!
Just try to make better sentences. Do not repeat words. Be more creative and start thinking critically.
Tip #3 Be prepared to spend more time on preparing
Yes, secondary education is all about preparation. You will need to prepare to do your best for presentations, debates, project essays and all kinds of work that involve home time preparation.
This involves doing a bit of research or talking to your friends about it. If you do not have friends yet, do not worry. Just search in Google and get some information that you need. Do not copy the whole thing because that is plagiarism. Aim for originality.
Tip #4 Engage with outside text learning
Outside text learning is necessary if you want to keep up inSecondary 1 English. This means understanding some world events.
Who was the VIP who visited Singapore?
Which country recently sent a space shuttle to Mars?
What was Elon Musk’s view of AI?
Ok, you do not need to know everything but you need to know something. After all, it does prove to be interesting does it not?
You may apply this information in yourSecondary 1 English group discussions or when you write something to the teacher to be marked.
Tip #5 AdditionalSecondary 1 English reading material
Additional reading material may be given by some schools. If they do not, go to the research libraries and read. Or simply read at the borrowing and lending libraries.
Make sure that you are able to understand the different views of authors from different times.
At least aim for the classics if your interest lies in that direction. Or read biographies.
You may read about inventions or discoveries. Be inventive. Look around you.
The world is brimming with information. This is the time to make use of media resources to know more.
This will prove to be a huge advantage to you and Secondary 1 can be a great learning platform.
Tip #6 Responsible writing
What I mean is that you have to be careful to think out of the box. You will need to be creative and work out your own views.
It is easy to find something on the internet and use it but it should not be copied wholesale. You still need to write responsibly by injecting originality into your work.
Or you may lose marks or worse still, failSecondary 1 English. Just be careful to write with your own views.
These are really useful tips for someone who is transitioning from Primary 6 to Secondary 1.
Do make sure that you have covered your base well before you start. Have a happy Secondary 1 year!